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Gary Donnelly
Gary Donnelly (September 17, 3498 - September 29, 3586) is a Dranish diplomat and politician, formerly of the right-wing Rally for the Republic. He founded the RFR's nationalist wing and ammassed extensive political experience in the RFR, having served as an MP (3527-3536; 3545-3465), High Commissioner of the Dranish Autonomous Zone (3536-3544), Foreign Minister (3545-3547), Trade and Industry Minister (3547-3549). He also led his party from 3552 to 3557. He retired from politics in 3565, but returned to govrernment after a 3572 coup d'etat as Tanaiste and Finance Minister in a military-backed technocratic government. In 3576, he returned to the lower-profile post of Trade and Industry Minister due to his age, but was forced to resign altogether after a stroke in early 3577. Early life Donnelly was born in 3498 in Ddraig Môr (Loren). His parents were car salespeople and ran a joint business. While they were not academics themselves, they encouraged their son's talents and made sure that he was able to attend university without having to rely on loans. He studied political science at the Greater National University of Loren from 3416 to 3420 before attending a private diplomatic academy in Iglesia Mayor. After graduating, he worked as a foreign policy analyst in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Simultaneously, he joined the RFR, which at that time advocated a relatively isolationist idea of foreign policy, which Donnelly appreciated. Entry into politics In 3427, he ran for Parliament, and, as the candidate in the rural Lorenian district of Tylwaerdreath, secured the seat for his party against the nationwide trend. In 3528, he became foreign affairs critic for his party. In that position, he mostly opposed the foreign policy initiative of Yuko Asukai, arguing that "there is a difference between internationalism and openness to the international community and surrendering national sovereignty." He also criticized President Sean Yates over his hard-line stance against the communist Kazulian regime, calling him a hypocrite for pushing allegedly socialist policies at home and condemning them abroad. Donnelly also clashed with then-DAZ High Commissioner Timothy Omundsson, who he accused of having plagiarized his modernization plan for the zone. Libertarian nationalism In 3530, rumors about his leadership ambitions emerged, and he was increasingly regarded as a rival to Éléonore Gascoyne, another young RFR rising star. In 3532, he openly defied the party line by delivering a big speech proposing to abolish foreign aid and shut down the borders. Two years later, he launched a new "libertarian nationalist" RFR faction, whose ideals he described as follows: "Libertarianism has so far been associated mostly with cultural liberalism, which does not recognize the traditional values most individuals in this country cherish. Individual freedom should not be minority-focused to an extent where it ignores the ideals the vast majority of our population follows. We must recognize that the freedomite attitude this country is renowned for is based on the customs and traditions of our native cultures. Especially, but not exclusively, it has been the Draddwyr who have cultivated and spread the believes that allowed our ancestors to build a civilized society, and only by ensuring that these values prevail throughout the course of time we can also preserve our liberty. National sovereignty is the framework of our culture of freedom, and without protecting it we cannot protect liberty. Borders are not arbitrarily drawn lines, but separate cultures and believes for the benefit of all sides. This does not mean that we must shut ourselves off from the outside world, but it must mean that we establish a more culturally sensitive attitude to issues like immigration. As a general fact, unless goods, you cannot import people without importing their culturally predetermined traits. There are exceptions in individual cases, but we cannot deny this general rule. Thus, we must not be afraid as libertarians to embrace a proud belief in nationalism, a term that has been misused, twisted and defamed by the left-wing elite beyond recognition but really stands for the very foundation of freedom." Although the faction remained small in its initial phase, Donnelly became one of the RFR's best-known figures, and several politicians of The Good lauded him for his ideas. At one point, it was even suggested that he could become the nation's first Taoiseach and thus thwart the ambitions of Gascoyne, who in the meantime had become the RFR's de facto leader. DAZ Commissioner In 3535, after a very public clash between Gascoyne and Donnelly in Parliament over the issue of immigration, a secret deal was reportedly made between the two, which would assign the post of DAZ High Commissioner to Donnelly in exchange for not challenging Gascoyne for the party leadership. It is still unknown whether this deal ever took place, but as soon as Gascoyne became Taoiseach, Donnelly was announced as the new High Commissioner. In his new position, he did not refrain from pushing his nationalist agenda. For example, he proposed an ethnicity-based DAZ settling policy favoring Draddwyr and Kyo settlers. He also endorsed calls from activists in the Zone to make the Commissioner an elected position, which was again opposed by his rival Gascoyne. Despite all controversies, a poll taken by the Enomoto-si Bulletin, a DAZ newspaper, in October 3538 showed that nearly two-thirds of DAZ residents approved of his performance, regarding him as independent-minded, quirky, and supportive of local interests rather than those of the central government. Highly popular within the Territories and never shy of bashing the central government - he even allowed pro-democratization demonstrators to disturb and disrupt the visit of his rival Gascoyne to the DAZ in 3443 as a revenge act for not being consulted by the Taoiseach -, he used his popularity to return to Dranland in 3544 after Gascoyne's resignation. Cabinet minister Quickly entering Parliament via an orchestrated by-election, he was sworn in as Foreign Minister in a TG-led administration. Together with Izumi Otaka, he reformed the RFR's stance on DAZ-related issues towards a pro-autonomy position. In his first press conference as the new Foreign Minister of Dranland, he used the occasion to demonstratively support the Dranish Autonomous Zone Reorganization Act (DAZRA) passed by Parliament in 3544, saying: "This bill, even though I do not agree a 100% with some of its modalities, is an important step forward that frees the Zoners from the leash Iglesia Mayor has put them on in an appallingly paternalistic attitude. When I was High Commissioner I could experience that they are fully capable of exercising democratic duties responsibly and competently. As Foreign Minister, I will work very hard to implement what's in DAZRA, because it reflects the wishes of the DAZ people, whose demands will always find a sympathetic ear from my part." He remained Foreign Minister until 3547, when Chairman Izumi Otaka, supported by the nationalist wing, led his party into a coalition with the fascist NFP. Donnelly became Minister of Trade and Industry, but had to implement several interventionist policies the NFP had advocated for against his conscience. The coalition collapsed soon after the NFP went defunct, but the nationalist wing's reputation remained damaged. In 3549, early elections were held in which the RFR lost votes and seats. The majority of party members blamed this on the nationalist wing, leading to the resignation of Otaka, mainly to protect Donnelly's chances as leader which would have evaporated in case of a meltdown of the nationalist faction. Donnelly himself secured the position of deputy Chairman under Erin Woodward. Leadership After an unsuccessful election in 3552, Woodward had to step down, and Gary Donnelly won the leadership, defeating largely unknown former Finance Minister Scott Layton. As Chairman, Donnelly strongly opposed the hard-line unionist course pursued by Taoiseach Dr. Enrique Ovalle on DAZ/NUM isses and spoke out against the suspension of autonomy and the installation of a technocrat cabinet. Donnelly also criticized the alleged lack of fiscal responsibility on the part of the Ovalle administration, which at times ran a 47 billion deficit and yet still continued to raise environmental and agricultural spending. Ahead of the 3555 elections, he made the correlation of public finances and inflation an issue, claiming that "the big issue is, in fact, spending, especially industrial subsidies and agricultural/environmental spending which the government has inflated and which need to be cut back." The government camp meanwhile suggested that he would want to drive up interest, which he denied. The election was lost, and some, such as Éléonore Gascoyne, blamed it on the "outlandish" NUM positions of Donnelly and his ally Izumi Otaka. However, shortly after the election, the Chairman stepped up his rhetoric, accusong Ovalle of "turning the NUM into a military dictatorship - already, he makes the people go to the polls with a gun pointed at their heads, bullying them into voting UTU and threatening to ravage the NUM if he doesn't get his way. More and more, Ovalle is tragically resembling his arch nemesis Jun as, in the last months of his self-aggrandizing rule, he loses any sense for political appropriateness, and shows off his disgustingly megalomianc hubris." However, in 3557, after a leadership spill against him, Donnelly lost the leadership to his long-time nemesis, Gascoyne. He subsequently returned to the backbenches. Despite this, he still remained a vocal and often controversial politician - for example, in 3559, he urged voters to back the NFP if they supported DAZ autonomy - although he faded from prominence after the dissolution of the RFR in 3363. He left Parliament in 3565 and retired from politics. Return to government In 3572, the military seized power after years of instability. Shortly after the coup, a technocratic government was formed under the leadership of General Joel Cubrero, the new President and Taoiseach. Donnelly, as a highly experienced politician, was offered the posts of Finance Minister and Tanaiste, and accepted both. He was widely criticised as a power-hungry opportunist. Shortly after re-entering government, Donnelly issued a decree establishing the Economic Regulation Commission, (informally referred to as the 'razor gang'), which would take over Parliament's power to create, amend and repeal economic regulations. Donnelly stated that he would use the ERC to deregulate the economy. His tax cuts and deregulation helped to restore some stability to the fragile Dranish economy. He also withdrew subsidies to most industries to eliminate a major drain to the public finances, although establishing Special Enterprise Zones (where businesses would enjoy lower tax rates and less regulation) in the most affected areas alleviated many issues associated with the abrupt withdrawal of subsidies. In 3576, Donnelly, due to his age, was expected to leave Cabinet for a final time. However, he was instead moved to run the lower-profile portfolio of Trade and Industry, the second time he had served in such a role (he was the Minister of Trade and Industry between 3547 and 3549). In February 3577, just months after returning to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Donnelly suffered a stroke and was forced to retire altogether. Retirement Within a month of Donnelly's involuntary retirement, the President Cubrero was unexpectedly overthrown by his own Cabinet after losing the support of the military which had hitherto backed his government. Donnelly was released from hospital shortly afterwards. After his retirement and discharge from hospital, Donnelly refrained from making public appearances. Although he was a sought-after public speaker due to the depth and breadth of his political experience, he made only seven speeches between 3577 and 3580, and refused to appear in public altogether after an assassination attempt in the latter year. In 3581, historian Professor Marc Tarrega interviewed Donnelly as he was writing a book on 36th century Dranish politics; the book was never published due to Tarrega's death, and the last interview that Donnelly ever gave thus remained unpublished until recently. Later that same year, Donnelly suffered a second stroke. Although it did not substantially affect his mental abilities, he was left half-paralysed. He therefore moved from Ddraig Môr to a nursing home in Iglesia Mayor, where he remained for five of the final six years of his life. Five years later, a third major stroke rendered Donnelly completely comatose. Despite a brief recovery in late 3586, which allowed him to celebrate his 88th birthday, he died on September 29, 3586. Category:Dranian people Category:RFR politicians